(12/6/2012 10:03:40 PM) Flag as inappropriate contentQuite so, Chuck. Our so-called Creative Departments no longer have the resources to produce much of anything that would be valuable to an advertiser and tolerable to a listener.

Even so, "radio creative" has always been a misnomer and an oxymoron - most of the time. Maybe 90% of it is just pure slog.

Actual creative people have been condemned to the role of hacks; are chugging back cans of alphabet soup and recording the crap that emanates from the exercise.

- Ronald T. Robinson

(12/6/2012 12:30:55 PM) Flag as inappropriate contentOh, radio tells a consistent story: "Our attentive, motivated listeners are loyal to our station..." That story focuses almost exclusively on the delivery vehicle.

Do direct response practitioners push their brand of envelope, expecting that the copywriter will "come up with something" for the letter?

If instead of selling the container, radio sold great creative, revenues wouldn't be shrinking, would they?

- Chuck McKay

(12/5/2012 4:11:55 PM) Flag as inappropriate contentDave Gifford's premise that too few stations provide good sales training is right-on, as far as it goes. But once we've learned how to ask for - and get - the money, we also need training in how to write and produce commercials that will bring our advertisers the ROI they deserve. Measurability and accountability at the granular level, however, is *not* the holy grail. Coupons/offers are more easily measured than branding messages, but the power of the latter to grow a business is undeniable.

- Rod Schwartz - RadioSalesCafe.com

(12/5/2012 8:20:26 AM) Flag as inappropriate content“If you believe the Arbitron numbers, it's hard to fathom why every advertiser walking planet earth, that desires to stay in business, isn't salivating to get his message out using your station.”

Though I'm not sure he realizes it, with these words Ed Ryan paints a picture of what is wrong with radio: There is this inherent belief within the industry that just "existing" is enough to produce results.

Warnings about topics in Ed's article have been told to radio executives - repeatedly - over the past ten years.

Advertisers have lost interest in radio because they've tasted (or seen) how today's advertising delivers quantified ROI, not some parable about reaching 93% of the population.

Here's another quote from Ed Ryan: “I'm fine with letting our readers see how you are willing to accept anything Pandora says to give you more material to cry how the radio sky is falling.” He was talking to me, about the many times I've warned the industry about the above problems (in this case, the topic was Pandora's growth).

I’ve never said the sky is falling but have, many times, pointed to the huge amount of opportunity if the radio industry chose to change. It hasn’t, and that’s why radio is in the situation it’s in today.

This isn’t about telling radio’s story. It’s about telling the advertiser the story of how their campaign produced results, then backing that story up with fact.

Advertisers no longer salivate to “get his [their] message out.” They are looking for proof that getting the message out produces response, without regard to the ad platform. Unless radio addresses this issue Jack Meyers’ forecast sounds about right.

- Ken Dardis

(12/5/2012 5:48:52 AM) Flag as inappropriate contentStill ignoring or covering for Rush Limbaugh? Really? Well, then, that explains one aspect of the problem.